A garda officer was shot and injured in the heart of Dublin's financial district today, a garda source confirmed.

The regional traffic unit garda was shot after stopping two men in a car at Ossory Road, near the Irish Financial Services Centre, shortly after 9am.

A garda source said: "I understand one of our traffic officers on a bike stopped two men in a car and one of them got out and fired a shotgun at him and hit him in the chest."

The uniformed motorcycle garda officer was taken to the Mater Hospital in Dublin's north inner city, where he is in a stable condition.

The men in the car - which had been stolen in the last few days - sped off immediately after the shooting and abandoned the vehicle nearby. It is believed they then transferred to a white van and escaped from the area.

Sergeant Gerry Curley, of the Garda Press Office, said: "A uniformed member of An Garda Siochana was shot shortly after 9am while on duty."

Several roads around area have been sealed off and a garda checkpoint has been set up on the East Link Bridge.